Seed Pod #3: Failure
Universally experienced, (almost) universally dreaded
It’s time for our third official SmallStack Seed Pod. Are you excited? We’re excited.
The theme for this pod is close to our own hearts. It’s something that everyone experiences, almost everyone dreads, yet often leads to unexpected opportunities down the line.
The theme for this Seed Pod is… drumroll please… failure.
Want to join us? Here are the key details:
This Seed Pod will officially run Feb 25-Mar 23. Comments on this post will remain open for the duration of the pod.
This Seed Pod is open to anyone who wants to participate. Need a refresher? You can check out our past Seed Pods here.
This post is the Seed Pod HQ. Use the comments to share your post about failure and find other pod members’ posts to like, comment, and restack.
How to participate in this Seed Pod:
1. Create an original post on the theme of failure.
You can interpret this theme as broadly as you like. As long as your post is even tangentially related to failure, it counts!
2. Add the following intro to the top of your post. You should be able to just copy-paste the text below.
The following post is part of a Seed Pod collaboration about failure. Seed Pods are a SmallStack community project designed to help smaller publications lift each other up by publishing and cross-promoting around a common theme. We’re helping each other plant the seeds for growth!
3. Add the following outro and badge to the bottom of your post.
Want to see more posts from this Seed Pod or join in on the fun? Head over to our roundup to learn more!
Here is some alt text you can use for the badge: Cartoon of three green happy peas in a pod on a plain light gray background with a solid blue border. Black text by the peas reads, "Seed Pods; A SmallStack Community Project”
Here’s an example of a completed Seed Pod post with the intro/outro and badge.
4. Publish the post on your own substack. Then comment here with the link and a short description the post.
Don’t have time to write something immediately? No worries! This Seed Pod will stay open until Mar 23, and you can post right up until the end.
5. Check out others’ Seed Pod posts in this thread.
Engaging in this thread is great and highly encouraged, but don’t stop there. Visit the actual posts and like, comment, and restack your favorites. Maybe you’ll even want to subscribe to a few new creators. That’s how we help each other grow!
Friendly reminder: have fun, make friends, and try new things!
Use this thread as a space to have fun and experiment. If you aren’t sure what to create, ask others to help you brainstorm ideas. If someone has shared something you really love, make sure to let them know!
One last thing
If you have an awesome idea for a Seed Pod, you don’t have to wait for us. You can gather like-minded collaborators to start your own pod, and we’ve got just the thing to help! The newly released SmallStack Guide to Seed Pods is your complete guide to creating, managing, and promoting your very own Seed Pod.
Here's my post about failure: a brand new interview series called FailStack! After experiencing a number of setbacks in 2024, I got tired of pretending everything was "fine" when inside, I felt like a massive failure. I decided to start FailStack, a place for real, honest conversations about our relationship to failure and how it shapes our lives. The first interview is now live! In the spirit of leading by example, it's with myself. https://creativeletters.substack.com/p/failstack-1
When Robin C first mentioned the idea of Failure for a Seed Pod, I did a little happy dance. Just so happens failure has some overlap with rejection. Go figure! Read about how ways we at 100 Rejections Club embrace rejection, and how the techniques apply to this Seed Pod theme.
https://100rejectionsclub.substack.com/p/failure-isnt-a-four-letter-word-fail